Fall of the House of Ramesses, Book 3: Tausret

by Max Overton

  ***

  Another month passed, during which Tausret's kingdom shrank as she pulled her loyal forces into Men-nefer and Setnakhte spread his control over the east bank of the river. He still did not have enough boats to cross the river and carry the fight to his enemy, but he made sure that his army was well supplied and in good spirits. A messenger boat sped into the Men-nefer docks, bearing word from the north. General Iurudef had come south with three legions--Set, Sobek, and Sept--and had taken up a defensive position in Iunu.

  "The legions are no use up there," Ament fumed. "Send orders that he march south, my Lady. With Khent-abt and the palace guard we may yet match the enemy."

  Tausret send word immediately and five days later she had Iurudef's reply. She read it in silence and then handed it to Ament. "He says he cannot hope to defeat Setnakhte in open battle, so he awaits the will of the gods."

  "Traitorous dog."

  "One can hardly blame him, I suppose," Tausret said calmly. "But it does complicate matters. I cannot defeat Setnakhte without him, and so the will of the gods becomes manifest if he does not aid me. In other words, he believes Setnakhte will win and does not want to be seen fighting the man who will be Kemet's next king."

  "Let me take some trusted men and I will kill this traitor," Ament said.

  "No, I have had enough of killing. Rather, send Mentu to negotiate with him. There must be something that will induce him to come to my aid."

  ***

  Tjaty Mentu sailed north to Iunu, bearing messages from Sitre Tausret that offered encouragements to Iurudef to remain loyal. He was to return within five days with the General's reply, but it was ten days before Mentu's message was delivered to the king. Tausret read it and then screwed up the scroll, tossing it aside. With a sweep of her linen dress, she turned and left the room, her cheeks flushed with anger.

  Ament picked up the crumpled letter, smoothed it out and read it. 'Daughter of Re,' it read, 'I have completed my assignment and carried your words and offers of reward to General Iurudef. We entered into discussions of his loyalty to Kemet and to you, and of his duty. He is adamant that he will await the manifest will of the gods before venturing out of Iunu with his legions, and he has convinced me of the legitimacy of his decision. Therefore, I cannot return to Men-nefer, but will remain in Iunu pending resolution of the civil war that presently tears Kemet apart. I will pray to all the gods for a speedy end to the troubles.'

  "I will have your heart for this act of treason, Mentu," Ament swore. "As soon as I can issue the orders, an assassin will pay you and Iurudef a visit. Without your poison, the legions will remember who is truly king."

  Ament ordered his most trusted spies into his presence and told them of his desires regarding the man who called himself Tjaty of the North. They went to arrange passage to Iunu, but before they could sail, the situation changed. Sails by the tens and then by the hundreds dotted the wide green waters of the Great River; boats of all sizes sweeping down on the current toward Men-nefer and docking on the eastern shore. The means had arrived for Setnakhte to cross the water and lay siege to the city. While he had waited, he had sent word to Waset and the cities of Ta Shemau to send every available boat and they had responded enthusiastically.

  Within five days, Setnakhte transferred three legions to the western bank and surrounded the city of Men-nefer, cutting off King Sitre Tausret from her kingdoms.

  Chapter 47

  Year 2 (7) Sitre Meryamun Tausret

  For half a month, Setnakhte sat outside Men-nefer, slowly tightening his grip on the city. As well as preventing anyone entering or leaving the city via one of the land gates, he stationed archers on boats to ring the docks and hastily erected defences along the river. Nobody could enter or leave by water either, and the populace was also limited in the water they could scoop from the river.

  Setnakhte waited until there was no doubt that he had complete control of the city before sending a herald to convey a message to Sitre Tausret. Guards at the northern gate brought the herald to General Ament, who read the message and told the herald to wait upon his return. Ament took the message to Tausret and handed her the scroll in silence, waiting for her to read it.

  "I cannot accept this," she said quietly, handing it back to Ament.

  "He offers to discuss a bloodless solution," Ament replied. "One that will end the war without further destruction or hardship. It might be worth at least hearing what he has to say."

  "He addresses me as Lady Tausret, Great Wife, as if I was no more than the wife of my husband the king. How can I receive him if he will not recognise me as king?"

  Ament looked at the scroll again and frowned. "I did not see that, hurrying as I was to get to the meat of his message. Forgive me, my Lady; of course you cannot speak with him. I will tell the herald that."

  The herald returned to the camp of the besiegers and delivered Ament's reply on behalf of his king. Setnakhte shook his head and dismissed the herald. He waited another half month and sent the herald back with another message. Again, Ament took delivery of the scroll and this time scanned it carefully before taking it to Tausret.

  "At least he addresses you as king, even if he leaves out almost all your honorifics."

  "The same message though?"

  Ament nodded, handing over the scroll. Tausret glanced at it and put it aside.

  "I suppose I will have to meet with him."

  "At least to hear his proposal, my Lady. The problem is the meeting place. You cannot go out to his camp, and I dare say he will not trust you enough to put himself in your hands by coming into the city."

  "I will go to him."

  "You will do no such thing..." Ament shut his mouth with an almost audible snap, and bowed, blushing with embarrassment. "Forgive my presumption, my Lady, but I cannot let you offer yourself up to the enemy. I...I speak as your military adviser."

  "I would rather you spoke as my friend, Ament, for I have many who would advise me though mostly for their own ends." Tausret sighed. "I must go out to him, if for no other reason than I am an anointed king of Kemet. No one will harm me, for to do so would call down the wrath of the gods. I also cannot show fear, Ament, for then all is lost."

  "I see your point, my Lady, but because you are king you cannot go to Setnakhte as if you were a petitioner. Any support you still have would vanish at a stroke."

  "I must do something though. The city is restless as food runs low and soon people will start dying. They should not die because I am too stubborn or too proud to meet with my enemy."

  Ament considered while Tausret sat in silence, observing him. "You should remain in the city, my Lady. Let Setnakhte come to you."

  "He will not do that, and if he will not, then I must go to him."

  "I advise against it--both as a friend and as your General."

  "I know, but I must."

  "Then let me seek a compromise. You leave the city, but he comes to you."

  Tausret tilted her head to one side and regarded Ament. "I don't understand."

  "I set up a throne under a canopy just outside the gates. You sit there in regal dignity and receive Setnakhte as a formal petitioner. All the official niceties are observed, and both can claim the upper hand."

  "Do you think he will agree?"

  "I can ask him."

  Ament put the suggestion to Setnakhte and he agreed, saying that he was prepared to give up a little dignity if it would result in an end to the war. Ament replied, asking for a short truce so that he might set up the meeting place. This was granted, but Setnakhte made the stipulation that the site must not be within bowshot of the city walls. Ament then insisted that Setnakhte withdraw his army back at least a bowshot beyond that. Negotiations continued, gradually sorting out the details. Tausret entered into the discussion, requesting that Setnakhte allow food into the city during this time of negotiation, but here he refused, saying that Tausret had it within her power to alleviate the suffering of her people. The longer the negotiations were drawn out,
the longer it would take to resolve the issues and bring peace to the Kingdoms.

  The day of the meeting dawned, and before the heat of the day increased too much, Ament led a group of servants out of the northern gate, pacing out the agreed-upon distance, while Setnakhte's encircling army drew back, allowing a great open space to appear. Tausret's servants levelled the ground with mattocks and hoes, laid down rush mats and linen cloth on top, erected a large canopy to banish the sun's heat and linen walls to channel the breezes, and set up the royal throne amid much splendour.

  Rams' horns blew and a small procession wound its way out of the city, Tausret held aloft on a cushioned chair with fan-bearers shading her with ostrich feather plumes. Priests chanted songs of praise to the god-on-earth King of Kemet, and the people cheered. The enthusiasm of the people was somewhat subdued, but Ament made sure Tausret remained unaware by making a big show of banging drums and shaking sistra. In this way, the procession made its slow way to the open air pavilion where Tausret mounted the throne and sat in full regalia, heka and nekhakha of kingly authority crossed on her chest.

  "Let General Setnakhte approach," called the royal herald.

  After a brief pause, Setnakhte walked out from his camp with a small entourage of army officers and marched toward the royal pavilion. He stopped some fifty paces away and, telling his officers to wait, approached with only his son Ramesses as companion. The two men looked wary as they strode into the shade of the pavilion, but unafraid of Ament and the soldiers of the palace guard. Neither rebel bowed low or knelt as was customary in the presence of the king, but instead offered up a courteous inclination of the head and hailed Tausret as Lady and Great Wife of Userkheperure Seti. Ament sucked in his breath at the studied insult, but kept his temper, offering Setnakhte and Ramesses chairs and wine. They accepted the first but not the second.

  "So, Lady Tausret," Setnakhte said. "Do I speak directly to you or through your servant Ament, who all know has your ear at all times?"

  "And other parts too, by all accounts," Ramesses murmured.

  Anger swept across Tausret's face. "If your son cannot keep a civil tongue in his head, then this meeting is over. General Ament is a dear friend and adviser and he speaks for me often. Today, though, I speak for myself."

  Setnakhte inclined his head once more. "Forgive my son's impetuous words, Lady Tausret. He meant no disrespect, merely repeating common gossip. However, such speech has no place here, so consider his words withdrawn and unspoken."

  "I can readily forgive the impetuousness of youth, though your son is a grown man and should know better. However, in this instance I forgive him. Now, General Setnakhte, you have left your station without the permission of your king and threaten the peace of the Kingdoms. These actions must be explained and I presume it is for this purpose that you seek audience with me. Say what you will now that you have my ear."

  "Lady Tausret," Setnakhte said after a few moments. "We must come to an agreement for the good of Kemet. I do not seek to threaten the peace of the kingdoms, and I have left my station in the south without permission because there is no one to give or withhold that permission. You refer to the king but Lady, there is no king, and has not been since the death of Userkheperure these seven years past."

  "If you deny Sitre Tausret is king then you are a fool or a traitor," Ament growled.

  "Lady Tausret, I have come here to talk to you, not to listen to your dog yapping."

  "Then speak," Tausret replied. "Ament, let us hear what he has to say without undue interruption."

  "As I was saying," Setnakhte continued, "Kemet is without a legitimate king and consequently suffers because of it."

  "You have always claimed that, General Setnakhte, even in Waset after I had been crowned, but your claim is without foundation. Amun himself accepted me as King of Kemet. Must I send for the god's Hem-netjer to explain matters to you?"

  "Lady Tausret, I am quite capable of understanding that men claiming to speak in Amun's name have accepted you as king, but I hold that is exactly what it is. Men have named you king for their own purposes, not the gods."

  "That could be said of any king," Tausret observed. "Men--priests--speak for the gods. Do you dispute also that Usermaatre was king? Or Baenre? Or Userkheperure? Or Akhenre?"

  "Except for the last, they were all true kings, as every man accepts."

  "Even Akhenre," Tausret said, "though I had no cause to love the boy who supplanted my son. Yet the gods accepted him too, so who was I to defy them?"

  "Siptah, for I will not acknowledge the throne name he was given, and his father Amenmesse before him are all the evidence you need that men can place kings on the throne, claiming it was the gods who put them there. Why, it was even that Amorite Bay who claimed to have put his nephew on his father's throne."

  "Can we ever be sure that the gods have not put a king in his place though?" Tausret asked. "We may say that men put them there, but maybe it really was the gods acting through men. Once we start to question the decisions of the gods, where do we stop? Must we call into doubt every facet of Kemetu society?"

  Setnakhte looked uncomfortable and shifted on his chair. "I have not come to argue about everyday matters, Lady Tausret. Only to dispute the most important aspect of our lives--that Kemet has no king."

  "And I would say that you are mistaken, General Setnakhte. Kemet does have a king. I have been duly anointed and crowned, accepted by every god--King Sitre Meryamun Tausret Setepenmut."

  "Then we are at an impasse, for I will never accept you as king."

  Tausret sighed. "Not even for the sake of peace and Kemet's wellbeing?"

  "How is Kemet served by allowing a false king to sit on the throne?"

  "If it stops the fighting, the shedding of innocent blood, then it is worth it."

  Setnakhte shook his head. "There is another solution, Lady Tausret. One that would restore peace and Ma'at. Step down from the throne and allow another to rule in your place."

  Tausret smiled wryly. "Now we come to it. By another, I suppose you mean you?"

  "I am the best qualified," Setnakhte admitted.

  "Qualified how? By men's standards or by gods'? You are perhaps the choice of men, but I am the choice of the gods."

  "How did the gods choose you, Lady Tausret? To the best of my knowledge you seized power when Siptah died, there being no natural heir to the line of Usermaatre."

  "I ruled Kemet in all but name during Akhenre's reign, and when he died my son Seti-Merenptah should have succeeded him. There was no one else, so of course I put myself forward. Someone has to sit on the throne of Kemet and I was the logical choice. My grandfather was king, my adoptive father was king, my husband was king, and my son would have been king. I was Great Wife and God's wife of Amun, royal by birth and marriage, and Chosen of Amun. Who are you to dispute my right?"

  "I am Setnakhte, son of Usermaatre, and my blood is as royal as yours."

  "Your mother was a concubine, whereas I descend from Queen Isetnofret, mother of both Baenre and my natural father Sethi."

  Setnakhte scowled and made a chopping motion with his hand. "This all signifies little," he said. "You are a woman, Lady Tausret, and whatever your antecedents, you are unsuited to reign as king."

  "Women have reigned as king before. Check your histories."

  "Never for long, and never successfully. Kemet needs a man who can lead armies against the Nine Bows."

  "I have successfully led an army against the Ribu and against rebels."

  "I am talking about serious foes, Lady Tausret."

  "I have Generals and Commanders for such occasions."

  "And yet none of them can succeed against me," Setnakhte pointed out. "Here I am outside Men-nefer with an army five legions strong and none dare oppose me. I am king already, in all but name."

  "And I am king in name."

  "Queen maybe, Regent, Great Wife, God's Wife--but not king."

  "I am all of those things, General."

  "You could b
e."

  Tausret looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

  "You need a husband to rule beside you; one who is also royal."

  Puzzlement turned to humour. "I think you are too old for me, Setnakhte; even if I was so inclined."

  "Not me, Lady Tausret, but my son Ramesses. I will reign as king, but in five or ten years--whatever the gods grant me--Ramesses will succeed me with you as Queen beside him. He is strong and manly. A son of yours may yet rule Kemet."

  "You put this forward as a serious proposition?"

  "Yes."

  "I am not looking for a husband, nor do I need one."

  "I am giving you a way out, Lady Tausret. Refuse me and I will sit outside the walls of Men-nefer until everyone inside is dead of hunger, if need be. Nobody is coming to save you."

  "Then why make your offer. Wouldn't it be easier to pluck the crown from a dead woman than to make her your son's wife and share the crown?"

  Setnakhte shrugged. "You have played your part in the affairs of Kemet, Lady, guarding the throne as best you could, and I honour you for that, but times have changed. The old House of Ramesses has all but vanished and it is time for a new family to rule. I have the power to make it happen whatever you do, but it pleases me to be generous. Join your family to mine and continue to rule Kemet; refuse and go down into death."

  Tausret sat and contemplated Setnakhte's words for several minutes. At last she stirred. "I thank you for your words, General Setnakhte, and will consider them carefully."

  Setnakhte stood, and Ramesses joined him as he looked bleakly down on the seated woman. "Don't take too long," he said softly.

  Chapter 48

  Setnakhte speaks:

  I am committed. Before this moment I could have made my excuses and retired to my estates, even having shed Kemetu blood. As General of the South I could have argued that I fought the enemies of Kemet in the guise of loyal forces, but once I faced Lady Tausret I had no excuse. Not that I wanted one. She is a royal lady but no king, and she has had shocking advice from her councillors.